


Love scares us all man

by yunayoyoe



Series: the saga of the edgy emo midget and the dumb demon boy [1]
Category: Yu Yu Hakusho, 幽☆遊☆白書 | YuYu Hakusho: Ghost Files
Genre: Angst, BL, Fluff, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-01-15 23:46:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1323748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yunayoyoe/pseuds/yunayoyoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day Kurama makes an interesting observation. "You actually really like him, don't you Hiei?".<br/>Kurama's words keep echoing in Hiei's head as he ponders on the question.<br/>What feelings does Hiei have for the famous Spirit Detective?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Are you PMSing or something?!

**Author's Note:**

> Writing fanfiction when I should be studying! That is what I do!  
> And so, I provide you with some unproductive funtime that I call "Love scares us all man" (pls read that with Yusuke voice)  
> As you can see, titles are really not my forte, but please bear with this god awful title, hopefully you'll like the story :]

“You actually really like him, don’t you Hiei?” The statement took Hiei so much by surprise that he became momentarily speechless. He had been swinging his legs to and fro with his eyes closed, the sun shining on his face, but he stiffened up as soon as he heard that sentence. Hiei turned his head slowly to look at Kurama, his jaw practically touching the floor in bewilderment. Kurama looked at Hiei, not with the eyes of someone mocking him or bullying him, but simply making a statement. As if he was commenting on the weather.  Kurama smiled gently at Hiei’s dramatic reaction and thus elaborated:  
“I mean; you speak of him a lot when we are together like this, and you seem to admire him more than any other person I know of.” Kurama became slightly nervous at Hiei’s lack of response. “Am I perhaps wrong to think that is the case?”

Although Hiei wouldn’t admit it, Kurama was undeniably his best friend. From time to time they would meet up somewhere and talk to each other. Most often, they would meet in parks around the city; _if_ the weather allowed it. But when it was winter or when it rained they would meet at cafés and talk for hours.

But today was a nice day, and although Hiei said he hated this kind of sunny weather, Kurama knew that Hiei loved sitting in the sun. And so Kurama decided to invite his demon friend to a park near his school.

They had been talking about silly everyday things, but somehow Hiei would always mention the name ‘Yusuke’ while they were talking. Kurama had noticed this a while back, but choose not to mention it, seeing as it would perhaps mean his life was at stake.

However, over time Hiei and Kurama started meeting up more often.  And so Kurama thought that their relationship had finally become stable enough to discuss this.

Well, perhaps Kurama was wrong to think so, because shortly after the statement had sunk into Hiei, a darker aura than his usual one started to appear all around him.

He had looked so pleased moments before, just sitting beside him on the park bench made Kurama unconsciously smile.

“Kurama. Don’t I always tell you how much of a useless loudmouthed idiot that Yusuke is?” 

Kurama couldn't help but smile. He hadn't even mentioned Yusuke's name yet, but Hiei automatically presumed they were talking about him. 

However, Hiei's glare was as icy cold and merciless as ever. Even so, Kurama was not affected by this. He had gotten used to this glare a long while ago, so he actually thought that Hiei’s reaction was not that bad. Kurama chuckled in relief, and this caused Hiei to drop his tough guy act and look at Kurama with half confusion and half anger.  He waited for Kurama to explain himself.

“I know.” Kurama stopped chuckling and smiled at Hiei. “You say that about Kuwabara as well. But you know, it’s different when we talk about Yusuke. You sort of have this dreamy look about you; I think it’s rather sweet.”

Hiei’s face had gone from confusion to absolute disgust. Dreamy look?! Sweet??! What the hell was Kurama talking about?

“Why in God’s name, would I look dreamy whilst talking about Yusuke Urameshi? Please, enlighten me Kurama.”

Hiei said the last part of the sentence mockingly, but the truth was that he genuinely wanted to know. Hiei was not prone to showing emotions; he knew that much very well. So the fact that something might be affecting him to do that was… interesting. More so, now that apparently the source of it was Yusuke. The whole idea was just too absurd, but Hiei wanted to hear Kurama out anyways. Kurama wasn’t an idiot, and his observations were often correct. The thought of that scared Hiei for a second.

“I’m not sure Hiei.” Kurama said and looked up towards the sky.  “I guess people really can’t control their emotions.” Kurama kept his gaze on the clouds but smiled seemingly to himself.

“Huh…” Hiei said thinking about this answer. Hiei had learned over time to listen to what Kurama said; so when they parted their ways Hiei seriously thought about Kurama’s observation.  

_Do I really talk that much about Yusuke? I’ve never really thought about that before…_

Hiei always acted indifferent towards Yusuke and all the other guys. He was sure that he treated them all the same (Except for Kurama of course) and yes, Hiei did respect Yusuke for his power and all the achievements he had accomplished. But was that all? Kurama seemed to imply otherwise.

Hiei just couldn’t see why he would look ‘dreamy’ whilst talking about Yusuke. It made no sense.

~

The next day Botan had called all the guys over. Apparently a new mission was available. When they got there Hiei kept glancing at Yusuke. He kept searching for an answer; as if it would be written on Yusuke’s skin. But it wasn’t, and Hiei began getting impatient. Kurama was amused, he was watching as Hiei kept looking at Yusuke, and seeing how Yusuke was definitely feeling it.

“Ah you guys, if this is a long mission, then I can’t go.” Kuwabara said, smiling sheepishly. “You see there is this concert tomorrow…”

“You serious Kuwabara?” Yusuke said looking at Kuwabara with an amazing deadpan. “Are you going to see Megallica again? That band sucks dude.”

“Of course you wouldn’t understand Urameshi! You just don’t have enough class, that’s all!”

“Yeah, Yeah. Go see that damn pop band if that’s what you want.”

“I will!” And so Kuwabara marched away from the group angrily. Then he suddenly turned around as if he just remembered something. “And they aren’t a pop band Urameshi! So you better shut your mouth!”

Then the attention was brought back to Botan. “So, the three of you then?” she said smiling.

“Oh, unfortunately I really can’t go. I have to prepare for the upcoming exams.” It was a lie; Kurama didn’t have any upcoming exams. But this setup was just perfect for Hiei and Yusuke... He just had to drop out.

“Oh… Okay then, I can at least count on the two of you going, right?” Botan looked slightly nervous as she said this, and looked rapidly between Yusuke and Hiei for reactions.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT.” Hiei suddenly said.

“And why the hell not, huh, Hiei??!” Yusuke said clearly infuriated.

“Why would I go to a stupid mission with a moron like you Yusuke?”

“What the hell is your problem today, huh?! You keep looking at me like I’m a fucking freak show or some shit like that! If there is something you wanna say then go ahead!”

Kurama could only sigh, it was so typical of Yusuke to blurt out his feelings when provoked a little.

But what Yusuke said made Hiei freeze for a second. He suddenly felt bad for staring at Yusuke so much. He hadn't meant to do that, but when the answer to his ‘dreamy behavior’ didn't seem to come to him when the perpetrator himself was present, Hiei couldn't  _not_ get annoyed. He had probably been looking at Yusuke with an angry face unconsciously. But being Hiei, there was no way in hell he would apologize for that. He turned toward Botan.

 “How long is this mission?”

“Umm… probably 5 days or something.” Botan glanced at Yusuke, whose fist was shaking in anger.

“What the hell man?! Now you’re ignoring me Hiei?! Are you PMSing or something??!”

“Fine. I’ll take the mission. When does it start?”

Botan looked dumbfounded, more so did Yusuke who turned completely silent. “Waah.. You mean it?” slowly a smile crept up Botan’s face. “That’s great! It starts tomorrow, just meet me here and I’ll take you guys to the location.”

Then Botan sat on her oar and flew away before the guys could change their minds.

Hiei started to walk away and so Yusuke ran up to him. “Hey Hiei, you serious? You’ll go with me?”

Hiei kept walking without turning his head. “Yes Yusuke, I will go on this stupid mission, now leave me alone.”

Yusuke was smiling brightly, and although Hiei couldn’t see it, he could definitely feel it.

“Yeah! That’s awesome! I knew you’d come with me Hiei! See you tomorrow buddy.”

Hiei allowed himself a small smile (since nobody could see it), the fact that Yusuke was so happy about his presence made him… happy?

Well, happy was a strong feeling, maybe that wasn’t it? He could definitely feel something in his stomach fluttering about, was that not connected to happiness?

If so, then he must have been really happy. 


	2. Pain and Fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figure people like word counts per chapter...? so from now on I'll be giving you those :D  
> Word count: 1,385

The sun was setting as Yusuke was walking home. As he walked, he kept thinking about what he could have done today to earn that many grim looks from Hiei. From what he could remember, he hadn’t done anything wrong for a long time (towards Hiei anyways). Well, other than that, Hiei had acted pretty normally. He said he didn’t want to go, but Yusuke knew he would come anyway. That’s just how Hiei is; you could always count on him to be there for you. Even when everybody had given up hope on him showing up, Yusuke wouldn’t be surprised when he suddenly showed up to save everybody’s asses at the last minute.  
That guy was a serious show off. The thought made him laugh.

As Yusuke was approaching the station he noticed Kurama waiting for the bus. He ran over to Kurama, waving enthusiastically whilst a wide smile covered most of his face.

Kurama waved back from the bus stop, and made signs for Yusuke to come over to where he was.

Yusuke replied with a thumbs up.

“Hey Kurama!” Yusuke was still smiling brightly.

“Well you look happy Yusuke. Am I to presume that Hiei agreed to join the mission?”  Kurama said with that gentle voice of his.

“Yeah! it’s great right? Hiei’s pretty strong, so the mission will be a breeze.”

Then Yusuke appeared to suddenly remember something.

“Oh yeah… Kurama, do you know why Hiei was staring at me all day? There isn’t something on my face, right?”

Kurama laughed. “If there was something on your face I would have told you Yusuke.”

He then looked at Yusuke and said: “Well, regarding Hiei’s demeanor today… I guess he might finally have gotten interested in you.” Kurama felt the need to elaborate. “He has always acted indifferent towards you in the past, correct? There is the possibility, that after having been through so much together with you, he might want to get to know you better.”

Yusuke looked skeptically at Kurama. “Hmmm, that doesn’t sound like something Hiei would do…”

Yusuke rubbed his chin in thought, and Kurama smiled at the display. But in the distance he could see his bus arriving, so he felt like now would be a good time to conclude the situation, and hopefully push Yusuke in the right direction.

“Anyways Yusuke, just remember that Hiei isn’t very good at expressing his feelings.”

Yusuke laughed loudly. “No need to say it kindly Kurama, that guy is socially retarted!”

Kurama couldn’t help but laugh along with Yusuke. “You could say that, yes.”

Then the bus stopped in front of them, and a few other people nearby went towards its entry door.

“Just… be patient with him, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get your panties in a bunch Kurama. I’ve dealed with Hiei lots of times.”

Yusuke started shooing Kurama towards the bus and Kurama laughed at Yusuke as he was being pushed into the bus. Kurama then waved goodbye before disappearing into the bus, and Yusuke waved in return.

 

~

 

The sun was shining once again this afternoon, and the weather was as lovely as it had been yesterday. Hiei, with nothing else to do, was at the meeting location 5 hours before.  
He was sitting on a tree branch relaxing and enjoying the day, hidden from the eyes of possible intruders. Not many people actually knew this, but Hiei was a real outdoor kind of guy. He enjoyed being in the sun the most, but sleeping under an open sky was also something he enjoyed, and did often.

Hiei heard footsteps approaching, but choose to ignore them; seeing as whoever it was, probably was just passing by. But then the footsteps stopped right by the trunk of his tree.

“You gotta be kidding me right? Hiei?” Yusuke looked up towards the highest branch of the tree. It was definitely not thick enough to hold Yusuke up, that much was for sure. But this was Hiei; he probably had the weight of leaf.

Hiei made a discontent sound when he heard his name directed at him.

“Hey man, what’s your deal? Why are you here so early?” Yusuke said as he threw his bag on one of the branches. He then climbed up the trunk and sat on his chosen branch. Hiei choose not to reply to Yusuke.

“Anyways, I came now cause’ _Botan_ never actually mentioned when we were supposed to meet up. Pretty damn stupid of her.”

Yusuke adjusted himself so he sat in the most comfortable position on the tree. He glanced up at the branch with Hiei on it. Not a word was coming out of the small man. “Well aren’t you talkative today.” Yusuke mumbled to himself.

As he was sitting on the branch, the sun shining through the leaves and the breeze caressing his face, Yusuke started to feel tired. As he was falling asleep, he quietly said to no one in particular: “It sure is nice today.”  
Yusuke wasn’t completely sure if it was just his imagination or if he was already dreaming, but he could have sworn that he heard Hiei quietly answering: “Yes… you’re right.” Yusuke smiled at this and fell asleep shortly after. 

 

~

 

For some reason Hiei couldn’t relax. It had been in his plans to also take a nap on this tree, but one Yusuke Urameshi had interrupted said plans. He could hear Yusuke softly snoring, and his interest suddenly got the better of him.

As nimble as a cat, Hiei went down until he was at the branch directly above Yusuke. From there, he locked his feet in place on the branch, and let his body fall. Now he was upside down, his hair now making a V shape instead of the usual pointy A. His face was closer to Yusuke’s than he would have liked.

Hiei was still very much searching for the reason why Yusuke would make him look dreamy. You see, Hiei isn’t exactly a genius when it comes to feelings, so he just figured everything would be written on Yusuke’s face. He just wasn’t looking closely enough.

Yusuke had a small smile on his lips; he looked so happy sleeping there.

Hiei wondered what he was dreaming about.

Hiei surprised himself. Why did he want to know that? Why should that even matter to him?

It was strange, he felt like he shouldn’t look at Yusuke anymore. He was confused of what he was feeling and was about to retreat to his own branch when Yusuke said: “Keiko, is that you?”

It was as if the whole world held its breath when he uttered those words. Hiei now felt it, a feeling he definitely understood.

Pain.

But this wasn’t the pain he was used to. Hiei had been through a lot of things in his life, and he had felt his share of pain. However, never had he felt an invisible hand squezzing the life out of his heart so hard he thought it might burst.

But it was strange. There was no one around. Nobody could have done this except for the only other person in the area.

Yusuke Urameshi.

Those innocent words, spoken so gently, had been the source of his pain.

The second feeling he felt was Fear. Hiei was scared; Yusuke possessed such an immense power over Hiei. A power so magnificent, that merely uttering such words would leave him gripping at his chest in futile attempt to relive himself from the pain it caused.

But it was strange, why those words would affect him this way he didn’t know.

‘Keiko, is that you?’

He had heard this before.

Hiei knew that Yusuke had a close relationship with Keiko, that human girl. So it wouldn’t be so odd for him to say her name in his dreams.

His dreams…

_I wonder what he might be dreaming about._

Those had been Hiei’s thoughts not too long ago.

…He had now gotten his answer.

He was dreaming about Keiko.

The small smile on his face, the way he looked so happy on the tree branch, dreaming peacefully. It was all because Keiko was on his mind.

It now for the first time occurred to Hiei that Yusuke was obviously in love with this Keiko.

…

She probably loved him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't noticed since the first chapter, these events take place in a world where the guys grew up without ever figuring out the fact that Yusuke was part demon. 
> 
> Buuuuuut, when I someday finish this story I'll be writing a Hiei x Yusuke fic that follows the series.


	3. Shiroyama

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start reading this chapter I would like to mention that the mission Hiei and Yusuke go on is of course not something based off from the series. The mission, the location, the enemy... these are all things I have inveted as a scenario for those brats.  
> Oh, and it would be cool if you could also read the end notes, please and thank you ^.^
> 
> Btw, I would like to thank OddBall13 for the comment! It helped me in getting of my lazy ass and continue this fic. The constructive feedback was also absolutely golden. Thank you!

“Good afternoon boys!” Botan shouted at the boys from the base of the tree.

She flew up towards Yusuke on her oar. “Why? Yusuke! You’re sleeping aren’t you?”

She poked him on the nose with her long finger nail. Yusuke woke up so suddenly that he was close to falling of the tree. “Ups; didn’t mean to do that.” Botan said as she giggled cutely.

“Ugh, smells like paint.” Yusuke noticed the kimono clad blue haired girl sitting on a flying oar, and didn’t as much as bat an eye. He had gotten used to displays such as this…and even worse for that matter. He simply said: “Mint green, huh?” he said looking at Botan’s newly painted finger nails. He then looked up at Botan’s face. “It suits ya.”

“Why thank you Yusuke, that was oddly nice of you.” Botan said appreciating somebody noticed her effort for a change. “But no time for small talk, your mission awaits you!” The last part of the sentence she said with enthusiasm only Botan possessed. Yusuke laughed softly at her cute enthusiasm, and smiled.

“Well then, let’s get this show on the road.” Yusuke then jumped down from the tree ready for action.   
He turned towards the upper branches of the tree. “Come on Hiei, you coming or what?”

…

No answer.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Yusuke mumbled to himself.

“Don’t you think he might be sleeping, just like you were moments ago?” Botan asked sensing Yusuke’s anger getting the better of him.

“You think so?” Yusuke asked looking over his shoulder. Botan just raised both shoulders in a uncertain gesture.

Yusuke dropped his bag on the ground beneath him, and quickly but brutally, jumped from branch to branch until he was at the last branch that could support his weight.  Meaning he was two branches beneath Hiei. However, it was fine, since the upper branches were a lot closer together than the ones closer to the ground. So reaching would not pose as a problem if needed.

“Hiei, you son of a bitch. Are you asleep?”

No response.

Yusuke considered his options.  
He could just push Hiei of the branch, and his ninja-like abilities would alert him in time for him to land safely.   
He could also just insult him and he might awaken from anger.   
But if those options went wrong… an angry Hiei could very well be the end of him.

“Tch.” Yusuke reached for Hiei. Thankfully, he was clutching his bag with his hands, so at least, Yusuke didn’t have to bother climbing the tree again just to get the stupid bag.  
It was slightly awkward getting Hiei down from that tree, but Yusuke somehow managed. From the experience of carrying Hiei, Yusuke at least conformed his hypothesis.   
Hiei really didn’t weight anything.

But no matter how many times Yusuke bitch slapped Hiei across his face, the guy just wouldn’t wake up. Botan asked Yusuke if he was dead, but the little guy was definitely still breathing. Botan then asked if they shouldn’t just leaves him on the branch, maybe he didn’t want to go, she said.   
Then Yusuke slung Hiei on his back, l held onto his feet, threw Hiei’s arms around his neck and let his head rest on his right shoulder. He then announced that he was definitely not letting Hiei slack off.

So they walked towards the train station with Yusuke giving Hiei a piggyback ride all the way there. Many looks were directed at the trio. A blue haired girl with color seemingly bursting out of her and a delinquent boy carrying a short sleeping emo on his back was not something people had the pleasure of seeing every day.  But neither the girl nor the boy noticed the odd looks, to them, this was just another day at the office.

They eventually got to the train station. There, Botan explained how they would get to the location. 

Botan bid them farewell, and flew off on her oar.

When Yusuke got in the train, he sat Hiei on the seat directly opposite him. Hiei’s head was resting against the glass window and he looked his usual self as he sat there sleeping.

The wagon they were in was more or less empty. But that was a given; not many people went to this place anymore, so it wasn’t so strange.

With not much to do, Yusuke looked at the scenery passing by. The sky was getting a pink hue and the crescent moon made its appearance known, emerging from behind lazy clouds drifting about.

It was very peaceful gazing out the window, and Yusuke found himself very relaxed.

He then turned his attention towards Hiei who was still sleeping.

It was incredible how often Hiei would just suddenly take a nap and never wake up. He often did it after or before a fight or even when he was just in a very boring situation. It was a weird but practical talent.

Hiei was a really quirky guy when Yusuke finally thought about it. Initially, most people would think him cold hearted and cruel. But they were sorely mistaken. Hiei was actually a real funny guy, and very reliable once you got to know him. Unfortunately, few ever got to the point where they could realize that.

Looking at Hiei’s face Yusuke noticed something strange. He squinted his eyes and leaned forward to get a better look.

Hiei’s white headband was definitely wet on the area where his jagan eye was. It wasn’t really all that noticeable since the headband was white. But Yusuke saw the slight difference in color.

Alerted by what that might mean, he was prepared to try waking Hiei up again.

Maybe it was some sort of infection in the eye, Yusuke thought.

As he was about to open his mouth, a small stream of water went silently down Hiei’s forehead, along the bridge of his nose, formed into a drop of accumulated water and fell, only to land as a dark stain on Hiei’s cloak.

Yusuke was momentarily stunned.

He now knew that this was no infection. He felt like this was something he shouldn’t have seen and so he turned his head towards the window once more, trying to convince himself that he hadn’t seen anything at all.

It was hard to process, but he had just witnessed Hiei crying.

 

~

 

In the distance one particular mountain came into view.

In a landscape full of mountains, it was strange that this mountain should be any different from the rest.

However, a thick mist covered this one mountain, almost whole. Hereby giving it a white and ghostly appearance; hence why the mountain stood out so much.

Hiei slowly opened his eyes heavy from sleep, only to be met with the most splendid view he had ever seen. The sky was a deep hue of orange, and the mountain contrasted its vibrant color with a ghostly white, that seemed to delicately fade out into the orange. Other mountains stood lush and green in all directions, practically oozing with the life energy provided from the recent summer showers and sunny days. 

Hiei was unconsciously gawking at the scene. Yusuke looked at him, with more interest than at the scenery he had been admiring for about three hours. Hiei’s reaction was priceless.   
Normally, Yusuke would have been ready to send the jokes flying.

But Yusuke was still slightly on edge with what he had seen at the start of their journey.  Of course he felt bad for being so uncomfortable just because of something like that. But he just couldn’t help it.

After all, this was Hiei.

The train came to a stop with neither uttering a word. Yusuke suspected that Hiei hadn’t even noticed him yet.

As they stepped out, the first thing they noticed was the slightly cold breeze. A proof that summer hadn’t truly arrived yet. The second thing they noticed was ominous feeling coming from the mountain.

“Shiroyama, was it?” Hiei said; his voice slightly hoarse. This surprised him to say the least.

Yusuke shifted his weight and scratched the back of his neck. “…Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, you've made it here! what did you think of this chapter?  
> Oh, anyways, I'm here to inform you about this "Shiroyama". I chose the name shiroyama simply because of two things:  
> 1) shiro means white in japanese and yama means mountain. Put those two together and you got white mountain, which essentially describes the apperance of the mountain.  
> 2) Shiroyama Hachimangu Shrine. you can read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiroyama_Hachimangu 
> 
> Basically, a shrine will be introduced in the chapters to come. However, please refrain from looking up pictures of this shrine as the way I discribe will be diffrent. However, two things the original shrine has, will be incorporated into the story. You'll see what I mean in the chapters to come.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count: 1.421 
> 
> Man, it's been a while since I last wrote a chapter for this! But I am exited, I've done some research here and there and I feel like I'm ready to tackle this!
> 
> To be honest, I kinda wrote this a bit hastily. But I just wanted to publish it quickly! I'm not sure why though:/
> 
> Anyways,

The scenery along the walk up the mountain was absolutely gorgeous. But even though night was slowly drawing in, it seemed that as they were walking up the mountain, they were leaving the darkness behind them. They were walking a path, whose destination was a complete white blur.

“We are entering their territory now.” Hiei announced.

Yusuke looked at Hiei, amazed over the fact that he was the first one to break the ice; even thought it was just a statement and not an initiative to start a conversation.  
But Yusuke grabbed the opportunity.

“Yeah, seems like it.”

Yusuke mentally screamed.

_Smooth. Real smooth._

“Umm…”

“Yusuke, it seems I was asleep during Botan’s briefing. Explain the situation.” Hiei never looked at Yusuke, but choose to look at the ground.

“…Riiight.” Yusuke said slowly.

Hiei grinned slightly, still looking at the ground. “I guess it was stupid of me to expect you had the brain capacity to understand a simply briefing.”

Even though Yusuke had just been offended, he couldn’t help but smile. Now he felt like he could breathe normally again. Hiei had removed the tension between them, and suddenly Yusuke was in high spirits again.

“Hey man! What do you mean by that?” His smile widened. “I’ll have you know I recorded every word in this brain right here.” He said as he tapped his head proudly.

“If that’s how it is, then go ahead.” Hiei said with that sassy tone of voice.

“Fine! Botan said that there was this shrine somewhere high up in Shiroyama Mountain. And basically there are these demons that have taken over it and terrorized the surrounding villages. Apparently it’s been going on for quite some time, but spirit world never noticed since the area was so isolated.”

Yusuke looked at Hiei expectantly. Hiei was still staring at the ground.

“And?”

“And _what?”_ Yusuke snapped back.

Hiei sighed deeply, and Yusuke was starting to get irritated by that overly long sigh.

Hiei stopped walking and looked up at Yusuke for the first time that day. And their eyes locked.  
“You are seriously stupid Yusuke.”

Hiei had the same expression he always wore when his superiority complex showed. But Yusuke was momentarily stunned. The whole day he hadn’t seen the demons eyes yet; they had either been closed or looking in a different direction.

Hiei turned around and looked down the path they had just walked. “You forgot the most important part.”

“The reason why spirit world has noticed what’s been going on here is because of the people that have gone missing from this area lately. Before, the demons were just doing stupid pranks not worth mentioning. ”

“Ohhh yeah, she did say something like that.” Yusuke said scratching the back of his head and blushing slightly remembering his earlier words of confidence.

“Honestly…” Hiei said and looked somewhere far away.

“Hold on a second… I thought you were sleeping! How come you know about all this?!”

Hiei snapped out of his short lived trance. “I do read the news paper you know.”

Hiei turned around and started walking up the mountain path again. Yusuke started walking as well.

Yusuke was preparing himself for yet another silent and boring walk up the mountain, but unexpectedly Hiei said:

“You know… There’s a story about this mountain.” Yusuke looked down at Hiei.

“Yeah?”

Hiei nodded. “The shrine you were talking about is called Shiroyama Hachimangu Shrine. Apparently, Hachiman, the god of the shrine, was some sort of war god.”

Hiei looked up towards the sky, which was slowly becoming hard to see because of the thickening fog. Nevertheless, the moon was still visible, in its perfectly crescent form.

“Hachiman’s worshippers were primarily samurai, but over time a very big part of the population started worshipping him as well. Actually, since he is such a famous god, you as a Japanese person should know about this. Why should a demon have to explain this?”

Yusuke thought about protesting upon hearing that, but choose to hear Hiei until he was finished talking.  
Hiei looked back towards the ground. “Anyways, I’m getting a bad felling about this place. I think there must have been a reason as to why the demons choose this place specifically, and I think it has something to do with this shrine in particular.

“Well, I don’t know… But I guess we’ll found out sooner or later.”

“Yes... I guess so.”

 

~

Steadily, the soft sound of wind chimes echoed all around them, though the wind chimes themselves were nowhere to be seen.

The boys where already deep within the mountain, the sky was now but a memory.

Now almost everything around them seemed to be covered in a thick layer of fog. The plants seemed to be drooping, giving the place a much more ghostly-dead-like vibe.

“This fog is strange. It creeps me out.” Yusuke commented.

“Yes… It almost seems like its heavy on the forest.” Hiei agreed.

Suddenly they could see a light in the distance, as they got closer they noticed several others doting the fog and making a road for them to follow.

“Hiei, this could be a trap man.”

“What else do you suppose we do if not go into this trap? Do you have any other way of finding the enemy in this fog?”

“…No.” Yusuke said pouting.

They followed the pathway until they passed beneath a red tori gate. Suddenly, there were no more trees, and if not for the fog, they would have been able to see the sky. However, the moon was ,strangely enough, still visible.

“I guess on the grounds of the shrine now, am I right?”

Hiei was about to answer but was interrupted by the sound of a koto.

“Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,  
In fields and villages  
As far as you can see.  
Is it a mist, or clouds?  
Fragrant in the moonlight.  
Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,  
Flowers in full bloom.”

All around the boys cherry blossoms seemed to sprout from thin air and drift delicately trough the air in tune with every time the wind blew the wind chimes. Along with the sound of the music, everything just seemed intoxicating. It all seemed like a dream.  
  
“Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms,  
Across the night sky,  
As far as you can see.  
Is it a mist, or clouds?  
Fragrant in the air.  
Come now, come now,  
Let's look, at last!”

The flowers disappeared just as suddenly as they had appeared, but the dreamy feeling didn’t go away.

”That was very nice, but we didn’t come here for a concert, demon!” Yusuke said to the voice.

There was no response, and just as Yusuke was about to comment on it to Hiei, he noticed that he couldn’t see him anywhere. Actually, Yusuke couldn’t even see his own two feet because of the fog’s thickness.

Yusuke got increasingly frustrated at this. “Hey! You big coward, show yourself!”

The fog was lifted and Yusuke could see the figure of a woman approaching. She was clad in a beautifully decorated kimono. She had long black hair and her lips were painted red. She was a beautiful lady indeed, but there was something extremely odd about her.

Then Yusuke noticed that her arms were unnaturally long, seeing as they went all the way down to her knees.

“Hate to burst your bubble lady, but I’m gonna have to kick your ass if you don’t surrender right now.”

“Oh, how the times have, the humans in this era are such insolent imbeciles. Though I can’t say it was much different back then.”

The woman looked Yusuke straight in the eyes, and Yusuke would have been lying if he said it wasn’t intimidating him.

“Spirit detective, it’s seems that you do not understand the situation you are in. I have you under my direct control. The moment you sat foot on this mountain, will be the moment you will regret for the rest of your life.”

“We’ll just have to see about that won’t we?” As he said this, Yusuke moved to his signature spirit gun pose and fired two huge shots in her direction.

But to Yusuke’s surprise, the woman faded away with a smile on her lips before the shots could even reach her. However, what surprised Yusuke even more was the person that now stood were she had been standing moments before.

Hiei.

The demon’s back more specifically, but as the shots approached him, seemingly in slow motion, Hiei turned around, but Yusuke wasn’t able to see his expression.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, this chapter doesn't have any romantic development (sorry about that) but it's approaching, muahaha!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All aboard the emotional rollercoaster!!

When Hiei opened his eyes, he felt dazed and tired. He blinked a few times trying to get a better look at the unfamiliar ceiling, when all too suddenly a pain struck him in the head like a lightning bolt. Automatically his hand flew to his head followed by a whimper as the hand touched his forehead.

“Hiei!” Yusuke, who had been leaning against a wall further away, crawled towards Hiei who was lying on the floor. “Are you okay?” he said in a very worried tone, which was slightly out of character for Yusuke.

Hiei opened one of his eyes and waited patiently for it to focus on the face before him.

“Yusuke…what are y-?” Hiei was cut off mid sentence as he realized how close Yusuke’s face was to his, his previously other free hand then rapidly gripped the fabric of his cloak near his chest. He quickly looked away from Yusuke, but the quick motion turned everything blurry and he got even more dizzy all of a sudden.

“Hiei!!” Yusuke closed the distance between them as he quickly took hold of Hiei and positioned him against a wall. When Hiei didn’t answer but choose to look down on the floor instead; Yusuke smashed his fish hard on the ground. It shocked Hiei to say the least, and as he was about to the question the spirit detective, Yusuke said:

“I’m so sorry Hiei…” his voice was undeniably pained, and he had obviously smashed his fist on the ground in frustration. That was just so typical for Yusuke. Hiei felt his heart lighten the smallest bit at that thought, but now that Yusuke’s words were finally sinking in, he got slightly worried.  
What was he apologizing for?

“Yusuke…” Hiei found it surprisingly hard to speak. “What happened?”

Yusuke looked up at Hiei, and just the sight of him looking straight at Hiei made his stomach do a flip-flop.

“You mean… you don’t remember what happened?” Yusuke looked suspiciously at Hiei.

Hiei gave Yusuke a confused look, but then tried to remember. But all that resulted in was added pain in his head, and unfortunately for Hiei, it showed on his face.

“No, no, no…don’t try too if you can’t remember it. “ Yusuke looked a bit away. “Actually…it would be great if you could just forget about it.”

Hiei was stunned by how pained Yusuke was about this whole ordeal. Overall, he was mostly surprised by the unusual behavior; nevertheless, the whole ordeal was too suspicious to just let it slide because it would make _him_ feel better about himself.

“You know, I still kind of need to know what happened.” Hiei said, but cringed in pain as he said the words and cursed under his breath from the pain in his head.

Yusuke looked up when he heard Hiei in pain, but as he was about to open his mouth, he hesitated and closed his mouth. He looked so… deflated. Nothing like the Yusuke that Hiei was used to.

“Well…” He scratched the back of his head. “I accidentally hit you with my spirit gun… twice.”

“Oh.” Was all Hiei could say. Honestly, he wasn’t all that surprised, and he was definitely not that mad at Yusuke.

“I feel really bad about it! Those shots were meant to finish off that demon bitch, and definitely would have…if they had hit the target. I’m glad you’re such a strong fighter, or else I’d be in serious trouble, he he.”

He laughed nervously at the end of the sentence and then looked cautiously at Hiei.

Hiei’s mouth was left agape at Yusuke’s comment on his strength. Suddenly the stomach flip-flopping got out of control; but it felt nice… in a weird way.  
It was strange that he felt so happy because of such a trivial compliment.  
People had commented on his strength several times in the past, but he treated all the compliments as matter-of-factly. He knew that they were only stating the truth; Hiei _was_ strong. However, when the words left Yusuke’s lips, it had a different impact on Hiei.

A few seconds of silence passed, and Hiei knew that he would have to break the ice.

“Did you really think I was going to die from your weak shots? Heh, who do you think I am?”

Yusuke smiled slightly at that but didn’t say anything else.

Hiei couldn’t understand it!

Yusuke was not usually like this. Normally, he would have laughed at him and made a joke, but right now Yusuke seemed so incredibly… cautious.  
Which was strange, since they had fought many times before, both ending up bloody and broken; but never had they uttered a word of apology to each other.

Hiei felt the need to comfort Yusuke and reassure him that he was in fact okay. However, as Hiei was about to open his mouth Yusuke spoke up:

“I’m gonna go talk a walk, when you’re feeling better; we’ll take down the demon and go home. Sound good?”

Hiei didn’t know what to say, and it took him a few seconds before he said:

“…Sure.”

Hiei was left in the room thoroughly confused.

But now that Yusuke had left, Hiei suddenly recalled Yusuke’s face that was so close to him only seconds ago. Where the boy had touched his arms started burning and his heartbeat started to pick up.

All of these reactions… they were scary. Hiei had come to understand that Yusuke had this strange power over him and whether Yusuke knew about this or not, he couldn’t say.

Hiei started thinking back on his conversation with Kurama.

_“You actually really like him, don’t you?”_

Hiei couldn’t help but feel that Kurama was the one that started all this mess when he made a comment like that.

Was it a curse?

Hiei couldn’t say.

However he knew that he had to get rid of these strange and painful sensations that seemed only to wash over him when he thought of Yusuke Urameshi.

 ~

 

Yusuke wasn’t really taking a walk; it was more like him going in circles around the small shed he had found. Sure he wanted to go running and beat the ever loving fuck out of that shitty demon, but Yusuke was afraid.  
He wasn’t afraid of her of course, but afraid of Hiei.

Just earlier today he had witnessed Hiei crying, and it was even apparent to a dimwit like Yusuke that Hiei was feeling sort of down. Then Yusuke just had to go and freaking blast him, not once, but twice!

Yusuke felt like he was walking on eggshells when he was around Hiei.

From his back pocket he took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one of them, and placed it between his lips.

He inhaled deeply and felt somewhat more relaxed as the nicotine filled smoke filled his lungs.  
He looked around him for a place to sit and enjoy his smoke, but found none, so he decided to just sit against the wall of the shed.

(Yusuke didn’t really know it, but his back was directly opposite Hiei’s. So you could say, that in a way, they were sitting back to back. There was only a wall between them)

Yusuke massaged the bridge of his nose and reflected on his situation. Hiei was feeling down, and Yusuke had just shot him, so now Hiei was also in physical pain; but at the same time, Yusuke had been lucky enough to find a shed on this god forsaken mountain. It was funny really; luck always seemed accompanied by bad luck.

Yusuke blew out the smoke, and watched as it merged with the rest of the foggy air, slowly disappearing.

When the cigarette burned out, he threw it in the wet grass and stepped on it before he went back inside.

When Yusuke opened up the door, Hiei turned his head up to see that had entered through the door.

And as if struck by lightning, Yusuke became paralyzed at the sight before him.

Hiei’s face was flushed red and his eyes were watery. His lips were trembling and Yusuke knew he was trying so hard to hold back the tears.

However, the moment Hiei laid eyes on Yusuke the tears started streaming down his face and a painful sob erupted from his throat.

Yusuke didn’t know what to do.

This wasn’t the Hiei he knew!

“…Hiei?”  Yusuke asked from the doorframe.

As if to respond Yusuke, another sob erupted from Hiei.

Yusuke could tell he was trying hard to make it stop, to try and from nonchalant words even in the state he was in now.

Yusuke couldn’t bare it.

Watching the smaller man crying his eyes out so painfully and against his own will;

He had to make it stop.

Yusuke walked rapidly in Hiei’s direction and sat down on his knees before the man who for some reason seemed so much smaller than he ever had.

“Hiei…what’s going on dude?”  Yusuke asked quietly.

Hiei sobbed another few times but eventually looked up at Yusuke through his watery eyes.

“I…my chest hurts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol, I haven't updated this in ages.   
> Well, what can I say?
> 
> I got lost on the path of life~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The emotional rollercoaster stops for no one!!

The moment Yusuke left the cabin, Hiei’s thoughts went down a endless spiral revolving only around that dammed spirit detective.

He thought about his idiocy, his bright smile, his brave attitude and his strength that seemed to grow with each day.

He thought about the amount faith the stupid boy always seemed have in Hiei.

He felt his chest growing pleasantly warm, and felt how the comforting heat seemed to flow through his veins through his body. The physical pain in his body from Yusuke’s powerful attack seemed to have faded away, as if it was just a distant memory of something that happened long ago.

But then, Hiei thought about Keiko.

He thought about how Yusuke smiled at her and how she smiled at him.

He thought of how protective he was of her, when everytime Hiei was hurt, Yusuke would only trust that he would get better; he would never protect him.

Then Hiei started hating himself for wishing protection from someone, that even though he was strong, was obviously weaker than himself.

He felt himself contradicting the life policies he had set for himself when he was expulsed from his home.

He could feel himself breaking apart.

His body felt cold and he his breath got ragged and painful.

The pain from the spirit gun that had hit him dead center was back in his body with full power.

Hiei then felt his face tightening and his eyes growing watery.

He hated himself for being so weak, and his hate and depression only made the tears harder to hold back.

Once upon a time, his anger and/or the rare sentiment called depression would only make him go on a killing spree.

Yet here he was, in a cabin, trying to hold his tears back.

What had he become?

Things only got worse the moment Yusuke entered through the door.

Yusuke had been messing with his hair, probably in frustration, and was no longer slicked back with a horrible amount of hair gel, but was messy and covering most of his forehead.   
Hiei always found this hair style more attractive and had on several occasions teased Urameshi for his horrible hairstyle. Though he would usually just be criticized for his own hairstyle as a comeback.

 When Hiei saw Yusuke, he was filled with hate for the man for making him like this. Yet, when he was also filled with sadness for knowing that Yusuke actually didn’t care that much for Hiei.

But overall, he was filled with fear.

Fear.

For whether Hiei liked it or not (and he really, really did not like it) Yusuke had an overwhelming power over him.

And right now, Yusuke was not even abusing his power over him. Yusuke’s mere presence, physically, but also mentally, had the power to leave him in such a pathetic state.

So, the overwhelming emotions made Hiei burst out crying.

He tired relentlessly to stop it.

To pull himself together.

To show Yusuke that he was better than him.

To preserve the image of emotionless killer he had build up.

When he heard Yusuke’s cautious voice calling his name, he tired to respond, but found his words were eaten, and instead a pathetic sob erupted from him.

Yusuke went to kneel before him and tried to look at Hiei’s crying face that was currently making the floorboards wet.

Yusuke asked him what was wrong and Hiei pulled himself together enough to make an understandable sentence.

He told the spirit detective exactly what was wrong.

“I… my chest hurts.” And the sentence he worked hard to utter was overtaken by furious sobs shortly after.

Yusuke’s eyes widened at Hiei’s confession and Hiei could clearly see panic creeping onto his handsome features.

“Is this because of me??!” Yusuke asked frantically.

Hiei’s mind was basically gone at this point. The pain was doping him and Yusuke’s presence seemed to fade away right before him.

Suddenly Hiei was alone in darkness.

In this dark room, Hiei tried to organize his thoughts.

“When he is with me he hurts me. When he is away he hurts me.”

“It’s not his fault really, even if he is an idiot.”

“I’m not sure how, but I can tell that it’s _my_ fault.”

“I could probably deal with it if I never saw him again. But he is constantly on my mind.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“What can I do?”

“Maybe I should kill him and his stupid girlfriend. Then the pain might go away.”

“But then I won’t see his stupid face again.”

“Or hear his stupid loudmouthed voice”

“This is such a pain.”

“It hurts me too much.”

“I think my chest is going to explode pretty soon.”

“I’m scared.”

~

Yusuke sat before Hiei, unsure of what to do.

Hiei seemed so far gone. The tears were still falling, but his eyes just stared into nothingness. Hiei wasn’t here.

Hiei started talking then. It was almost impossible to hear what he was saying word for word because of furious never ending sobbing.

But Yusuke understood.

From what he could make out, Hiei was experiencing new emotions.

More specifically, love.

However, not the kind that makes you feel like you’re floating; this was the kind that broke you.

Yusuke would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised that Hiei was in love.

It seemed soooooooo out of character.

Yet, this was no laughing matter.

His affections had gotten him in this horrible state.

Yusuke was worried for his friend.

Hiei kept talking, seemingly to himself, about his pain.

And then, his sobbing and crying stopped.

The cabin turned completely quiet.

Hiei looked so lifeless, his body was limp like a ragdoll and his face that had been flushed red with emotions only a moment before, was drained of all color. Yusuke panicked for a second thinking he was dead, but then he heard Hiei muttering something.

“I’m so scared.” It was quieter than a whisper, and the moment it left Hiei’s white lips it seemed to float away with the wind.

At that moment, Yusuke acted as per instinct.

For  he had been in a situation like this one before.

Once upon a time, the cheerful Keiko didn’t go to school for a whole week. Yusuke was secretly very worried, so he went to her house with the excuse of giving her homework from the teachers.

When he got there, Keiko was extremely paranoid. Yusuke joked about it, but she didn’t scold him for it. She just looked around nervously, obviously uncomfortable.

Yusuke invited himself into her bedroom and the moment he sat on her bed he demanded an explanation.

Keiko started talking at his request, and told him that a pervert had been stalking her recently.

He had gone to their school.

He had gone to her house and left notes.

He had texted her.

And before she stopped going to school, he had left a Lolita dress on her bed with a note telling her to wear it.

All the while Yusuke heard her talking, his anger had practically made his vision red. However, the moment she started crying softly, his anger faded away and he felt himself powerless to comfort her.

She had told him,

“I’m so scared.”

He had hugged her then; rubbed her back, and left the room with a promise of an extraordinary ass-kicking for that scumbag.

Keiko had smiled softly through her tears, and uttered a “thank you Yusuke”.

So, Yusuke utilized instinctively the only comfort method he knew of.

He hugged Hiei.

And when he did, he felt the limp body twitch back to life from the contact.

Yusuke didn’t think about how awkward hugging Hiei would have been in a situation other than this one.

How would have thought that one day, Yusuke would hug Hiei, and Hiei wouldn’t burn him alive for it.

Jokes aside though (they would have to come later), Yusuke was intent on making Hiei go back to his normal pissy self.

Cause let’s be honest, pissy Hiei was the absolute best.

He would even be a wingman for the guy through his quest to love.

God, that sounded so ridiculous.

Yusuke then undid their shortly lived hug, and looked at Hiei’s confused and dazed face.

That expression was so much better than his crying one.

Yusuke smiled sheepishly at Hiei, shrugged his shoulders, and said:

“Love scares us all man.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaahh, and so our emotional rollercoaster comes to a sudden, but much needed stop.
> 
> God, I am stiff for siting in that ride for so long. 
> 
> LETS MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ONE!! EN GARDE PEOPLE!


	7. Chapter 7

Later on that same evening, Yusuke sat in another corner of the room smoking countless cigarettes away.

All the while, Hiei had been sleeping in a corner opposite from Yusuke.

From time to time he moved around in his sleep or suddenly woke up drenched in cold sweat.

If Yusuke asked if he was okay, Hiei would just start crying or something.

So after a number of trial and errors, Yusuke remained quiet every time something happened to Hiei.

However, when Hiei shook in his sleep, he took of his jacket and covered the smaller body. And if Hiei woke up drenched in cold sweat, he would hug the demon and rub his back until he fell asleep.

Yusuke wasn’t stupid.

He didn’t know why, but he knew that Hiei would get one of his emotional attacks every time he did or said something.

Everything around him, even himself, was a catalyst to an emotional breakdown.

Not even in his own dreams did he rest.

Was this really normal? Yusuke couldn’t help but wonder as he glanced towards the sleeping body.

Yusuke inhaled his 15th and last cigarette sharply and blew out a huge cloud of smoke.

He was exhausted.

He didn’t even know what time it was, but he had been taking care of Hiei for a long, _long_ time now.

Yusuke couldn’t even take proper care of a goldfish even if his life depended on it.

He _had_ to get Hiei out of here, and hand him over to someone who might be able to actually help him with his crisis.

Someone like… Kurama.

Kurama always knew what to do, and they seemed to get along better than how Yusuke and Hiei got along.

Had Kurama ever seen Hiei like this before?

Or was Yusuke the first?

Yusuke was momentarily brought out of his thoughts when a red faced Hiei suddenly cringed in pain.

Yusuke threw the cigarette butt out the window and walked towards Hiei’s corner of the room.

He bended down before him and adjusted the leather jacket he had given him to rest with. Hiei moved around a lot, so it only covered half his body.

Then Yusuke noticed how red faced Hiei actually was, he tried pushing away some of his hair from his forehead and placed his own forehead against Hiei’s. Just like how his mother did when he was younger.

He was burning!!

Did Hiei have a fever??!

Yusuke was pretty fucked now.

He was already uncomfortable with being the only one able to comfort Hiei, and now the boy was sick to boot?!

Yusuke couldn’t handle this!

He felt himself in desperate need of another cigarette and with trembling hands fumbled for one in his shirt pocket. But the small box was empty, and in his frustration he threw the box harshly on the floor.

He cursed under his breath.

Yusuke glanced at Hiei again and noticed the way his breathing was different. Uneven.

And that was when Yusuke fled from the cabin.

Hiei, in his feverish delirium, didn’t even notice how harshly the boy smacked the door, or even the fact that he had left. He continued panting breathlessly as he hugged the jacket that covered him, comforting himself with a scent he had gotten to know a lot better over these days.

~

Yusuke didn’t want to leave Hiei alone, especially not with the way he was now.

But Yusuke was a simpleminded guy; he could only have so many things in his brain at once.

Beforehand, his goal had been to get Hiei through this whole ordeal so that they could move on.

But now, his goal was to get Hiei home, no matter the cost.

And what was the fastest way to get of this goddamn mountain?

Kill the demon in control, hereby finishing the mission, saying sayonara to this mountain and saying ‘hello please take care of this shrimp’ to Kurama who would use some plant magic or whatever to get Hiei back to his pissy, egotistic self.

Perfect plan.

One problem though, in this thick fog, how the hell was he supposed to find this goddamn demon?!!

He had just wandered around aimlessly with Hiei on his back and found the cabin by chance; it would take hours to find the place where they had met the demon.

Yusuke _could not_ wait for hours.

He had to get that little bastard back home as quick as possible.

So, Yusuke, being the stupid brat he is, basically blasted the whole mountain peek to ashes with a huge spirit gun shot.

Well, stupid he might be, but he found the shrine pretty easily after that.

He went around the shrine grounds calling out to the demon and taunting her so that she would come out.

He found her on a bench near a small pond behind the shrine feeding koi fish.

“Get up you hag.” Yusuke cracked his knuckles.”It’s go time.” He said when he cracked his neck.

The demon turned around to face him, but her jet black hair was covering her eyes, so he only saw a blank face and red lips that stretched out into menacing smile.

“Just you spirit detective?” the demon asked sweetly as she cocked her head to the side questioningly.

“Where is your little friend?” She asked, and from the tone of her voice, you could tell she was enjoying this.

Something clicked in the head of the Spirit detective at her mocking tone.

This explained Hiei’s abnormal behavior.

“You…What the HELL did you do to him?!”  Yusuke questioned her loudly, his anger building up by the second as images of a crying Hiei passed through his brain.

“I wonder about that, should I tell you?” She said as she laughed coldly.

“You can either fess up now or I’m going to have to beat it out of you” Yusuke said threateningly.

“I’ll tell you spirit detective, if only just to watch your expression.” She smirked devilishly. “This fog is a part of me, the moment you inhale it, you are doomed. I can control you with it, I can turn it to poison gas whilst it’s inside your lungs or I can simply let it be and it will sooner or later end you.”

“What the heck did you do old lady?”

“I am not really a powerful demon; cunning, yes, beautiful, certainly, but powerful? No. This is why I can only attack prey weaker than myself; if they are stronger, my fog will not work.  However, if a strong opponent is somehow physically hurt, even if still being hurt does not make him weaker than I, I can enhance certain feelings inside them. Be it pain so that they die in agony, be it fear so that they dear not cross me or be it depression so that they might even subject to suicide.”

“Stop yapping lady! What. Did. You. Do?!” Yusuke interrupted, clearly running out of patience.

“You’ve hurt your friend Spirit detective, in more ways than you might think.  I merely enhanced the pain _you_ caused.” The demon snickered as she disintegrated into the surrounding fog.

“This is getting stupid.” Yusuke declared. However, something inside Yusuke seemed to have snapped when the demon blamed him for Hiei’s pain. He felt horrible, yes, but right now he would cast those feelings aside. For Hiei’s sake.


	8. Chapter 8

Seemingly out of the blue, an immense pressure was lifted from Hiei’s small body. He awoke at once with a sharp intake of air; air that seemed a lot thinner than before, a lot fresher.

“You awake buddy?” a familiar voice asked him.

Hiei then noticed that he was being carried on the back by the owner of said familiar voice.

When he noticed this; he had two different kinds of urges: His initial thought was that he wanted to get the hell away from Yusuke, who the hell did he think he was?! Giving him a piggyback ride like this?!  
But something deep inside him, something he was trying his best to lock away, begged him to just lean in to the warmth of Yusuke’s back and just listen to him rant about stupid stuff. Yusuke wouldn’t even be able to see Hiei’s face like this, and Hiei could easily give him an excuse for not jumping off.

Alas, even if it was his desire, it was not within his nature to succumb to stupid feelings like this.

The only person in this world that had the _right_ to make him feel emotions akin to love was his sister, Yukina.

Yusuke was a stupid and foulmouthed. Nothing like adorable Yukina.

So, Hiei jumped off from Yusuke, but as he was about to throw a temper tantrum he noticed the dark bags beneath the eyes of the usually energetic boy.

Hiei was stunned. “Glad to see you’re alive.” Yusuke said as he started ruffling Hiei’s hair teasingly. Still, Hiei didn’t even try to take the boy’s hand away; he was simply stunned at seeing him like this.

What had happened?

 “What happened?” Yusuke stopped ruffling the raven hair, and considered his answer as he looked up into the clear night sky.

Yusuke then sat down on the ground, and suddenly it occurred to Hiei that he had no idea where they were, but what he did know was that they were somewhere on Shiroyama mountain.

“Tell me something Hiei.” Yusuke started as he leaned back against a tree. “What is the last thing you did on this mountain?”

Normally Hiei wouldn’t have answered, implying that it was none of Yusuke’s business what he did, but the atmosphere seemed so tense, he couldn’t quiet bring himself to it.

“We were going up, not down. And there was a thick fog; the air definitely wasn’t this, well, normal.”

Yusuke smiled at him, but the smile was so weak, almost as if he was about to drift off to sleep on the spot. But the smile also seemed somewhat…sad.

“To sum it up for ya; the demon is dead.” Yusuke said as he leaned back towards a tree trunk and closed his tired eyes.

Hiei stood there for a few seconds, wondering what to say to that.

Should he question the detective?

Should he scold him for getting all the fun?

Instead, Hiei opted for the one retort that always seemed to be the right one.

“You are a first class idiot Yusuke.” Hiei said as he sat down by a tree trunk near Yusuke.

Yusuke opened one eye to peer at the demon, and a lazy smile spread itself across his face.

“Please send your complaints to my secretary; I can’t bring myself to care right now.” Yusuke replied teasingly, clearly not insulted by Hiei’s remark.

“Oh? And who might be your secretary?” Hiei asked him curiously, going along with his joke.

Yusuke, who had closed his eyes again, scratched his chin comically. “Normally I’d say Botan, but in this case…” Yusuke turned his head towards Hiei, and overcame his laziness enough to give a genuine smile. “I guess it would be you.”

Hiei felt for some reason also very tired, even if he had been sleeping only a minute ago, and so he didn’t get _too_ mad.

“Ha! You are not only a first class idiot, but apparently also a delirious fool!” Hiei crossed his arms, content with his retort.

Yusuke merely mumbled something along the lines of “yeah, yeah” and more quietly “stupid shrimp”.

The two remained quiet after that.

Hiei could tell that Yusuke was tired and wanted to take a nap, and personally, he could use one himself.

However, Hiei continued looking at the stars that seemed so much brighter out in the country, unable to sleep even though he felt drowsy.

Moments like these reminded Hiei of the days he spent sleeping in parks or forest, and the feeling of looking at the stars like this should have been the same.

But something felt nicer now, Hiei almost felt warmer even though it was chilly. Hiei glanced at the Spirit detective.

“Yusuke, why is it you can’t sleep? “ Hiei asked as he turned his gaze back at the stars. “What happened?”

“I already told you what happened.” Yusuke insisted.

Hiei remained quiet.

Yusuke turned restlessly.

“Fine!” The spirit detective sat up suddenly and turned towards Hiei, his eyes irritated and angry. “I wasn’t going to tell you man, but you asked for it!”

Hiei nodded in silent answer.

“When we met the demon, I tried to fight her. She seemed pretty weak y’know, so it just seemed like I could blast her and be done with it. But she used some kind of trick! And… I ended up blasting you with my spirit gun.” Yusuke scratched his neck meekly, as if waiting for a scolding, but when it didn’t come, he merely continued.

“So I took you to a cabin I found. I think it took you a whole day to wake up.”

“WHAT?!” this Hiei couldn’t believe, he must have been _really_ caught off guard to become _that_ damaged.

“I’m not too sure though, the fog really did a number on my sense of time.” Yusuke stated as he furrowed his eyebrows. Hiei could practically see him trying to set numbers on the events that had transpired.

“You may go on.” Hiei said simply.

“Oh, yeah, course.” Then Yusuke shifted slightly, visibly uncomfortable with the situation.

Hiei couldn’t help but find it strange. Yusuke never felt uncomfortable, he made others feel uncomfortable.

“Well, when you woke up again, for some reason you… started crying.” Yusuke glanced cautiously towards Hiei for any sign of a reaction.

Hiei however, had no idea on how to react. So he didn’t. He became somewhat paralyzed at the statement.

Normally, he would have easily refused, and stated that Yusuke was mad for thinking he had seen Hiei crying. Hiei did not cry. Not even when he had gotten the jagan eye.

Still, something in the way Yusuke spoke made Hiei doubt himself.

“Apparently that demon had her spiritual energy as fog covering the mountain, and when you were weakened from my attack she was able to kinda manipulate with your feelings.”

Hiei, whom should have been relieved by this, was actually anything but.

“It lasted for 2 days.” Yusuke announced.

Hiei, who still hadn’t reacted, made Yusuke uncomfortable.

“Hiei man, can I ask you something?” Yusuke was walking on eggshells, but when Hiei didn’t respond he simply continued. “Are you… in love?”

Ah.

And there it was.

That pain in his chest hitting him like a lightning bolt the moment the word ‘love’ escaped Yusuke’s lips.

Love that could never be his.

Hiei’s face darkened significantly, and when Yusuke carefully uttered Hiei’s name, the bandage on his arm went up in obsidian flames.

The dragon of the darkness flame was slowly sliding of his arm and materializing in the air.

“This is all your fault Yusuke.” Hiei said calmly, as his feet slowly left the ground, the black dragon spiraling around him. “What the _hell_ did you do to me?!” Hiei asked as he lifted his face the rage and pain he felt inside clearly visible.

Hiei couldn’t take this anymore.

Yusuke didn’t like being accused for something he didn’t understand. He didn’t like it one bit.

“What the fuck are you talking about Hiei!? I didn’t do _anything_!”

“How dare you Yusuke.” Hiei said as the dragon grew larger. “You have the audacity to put a human spell on me?!” The dragons head turned abruptly towards Yusuke, and looked menacingly at him with its non-existing eyes. Then it roared loudly and brilliantly. “I will kill you where you stand!!”

Hiei yelled the name of his dragon, and instantly it charged towards Yusuke, whose life was now in grave danger.

With Hiei’s intense rage, and Yusuke confused but also angered mind, Hiei won. Albeit not easily, Yusuke had grown very strong after all.

Yusuke, who had passed out, awoke in a giant field of ashes. Everywhere in radius of 1 km had been burned to smithereens, and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of Hiei punching the earth and swearing as tears fell down his face.

Yusuke was badly hurt.

He had broken several bones and been burnt severely. Still, he was able to muster enough strength to walk all the way over to Hiei.

He squatted down beside the boy and took a hold of his shoulders.

Hiei never ceased his swearing and crying, almost as if he hadn’t noticed there was someone before him.

“I’m so sorry Hiei.” Yusuke started. The look in his eyes was not pity, but rather, an honest apologetic look.

He pressed Hiei to his chest. “I didn’t realize it was my fault.”

Yusuke had understood everything.

He had gotten several hints during this whole ordeal, but only during the fight was he able to put the pieces together.

Yusuke understood.

He knew that the demon couldn’t take it when other people had control over him.

Hiei was his own master.

He would never succumb to anyone else; he had always been a loner. He couldn’t take it that he now felt dependant on someone else’s love.

“I don’t want to see you like this Hiei. You’re my friend for god’s sake!” 

Yusuke started crying for inexplicable reasons.

“Shit! What the fuck man? I don’t know what the hell I should do!”

Hiei somehow snapped back to the reality at hand at the sound of Yusuke’s pained plea.

He pushed Yusuke softly away and composed himself before he stood up.

“Yusuke, I shouldn’t have blamed you.” Hiei started. “I was the delirious fool. You would never be capable of doing anything to me, this fight has shown me that much. I see now that there must be some kind of malfunction with me. I could never bring myself to feel anything for anyone; you know that, don’t you?” Hiei extended his hand to Yusuke who now sat dumbfounded and broken on the ground. Yusuke took the offered hand, and with a strong tug, he found himself on his feet again.

Hiei turned away from Yusuke and started walking down the mountain once more.

“You just forget this ever happened Spirit detective. Or the next time this happens, I might just end you for good.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bye

The journey home from the mission was silent. Neither of them was angry at each other anymore. There was no reason to be, seemingly, everything had been solved. Hiei would give up on Yusuke, and Yusuke would forget all about the incident to protect Hiei’s pride.

 

End of story, right?

 

~

 

“Wow, I’m not entirely sure what to say Hiei.” Kurama said honestly. “I had no idea your feelings were so strong.”

Kurama had been curious about what had happened between Hiei and Yusuke ever since the mission took place. He had on several occasions asked Hiei about it, only to be met with silence or death threats.

Alas, after the Dark Tournament, Hiei seemed to have an intense need to share the experience with his friend. So Kurama suggested they went to Shiroyama, where they could talk in peace.  

“If I may ask, how have you been coping with them?” Kurama asked as they walked through what had once been a field of ashes, but now was only a pretty snow field.

“I haven’t been coping Kurama.” Hiei said stated angrily through his thick scarf “I hate that Keiko girl.”

Kurama chuckled.

“So I’ve noticed.”

“She is utterly useless. All the other girls know how to defend themselves, but every time she is in danger she goes squealing for Yusuke.” Hiei loosened the scarf around him so that his voice wasn’t muffled. “I frankly can’t see the appeal.”

“Well Hiei, I guess love doesn’t always need make sense to others. But to the ones in love, it just works. Like a chemical reaction you know.” Kurama looked up toward the clear winter sky.

Hiei narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

“No. Way.” Hiei said.

Kurama looked at Hiei, innocent confusion in his eyes, as he cocked his head to the side in silent questioning.

“You’re in love Kurama.” Hiei stated simply.

Kurama laughed at that.

“I can’t honestly deny your accusation Hiei.” Kurama said, smiling as he talked.

“You seem happy. Is it mutual?” Hiei asked, no envy coloring his words.

“Ah well, I’m not sure yet. But I do think it’s pretty likely.”

“Is it someone I know?”

Kurama seemed somewhat giddy at the guessing game and couldn’t help but smile wider. “Yes.”

“A boy or a girl?”

“Boy”

Hiei, who had been walking in front of Kurama, turned around instantly.

“Kurama. It better not be who I think it is.”

Kurama laughed again, practically bathed in happiness.

He nodded.

Hiei marched right up Kurama and shook him violently.

“You cannot mean that you have feelings for Kuwabara!!” Hiei shook Kurama some more, whilst Kurama just continued laughing, drunk on his happiness. “It’s preposterous!”

Once Hiei calmed down and stopped shaking Kurama he asked politely for Kurama to explain himself.

Kurama shrugged. “Chemical reactions Hiei.”

Hiei turned around and continued walking in the front. “Hmph, sure. But I don’t especially appreciate you implying that Yusuke and that Keiko girl have chemical reactions.”

Kurama turned his happiness meter down a notch and answered Hiei as seriously as he could.

“Hiei, I need you to understand that the two of them _do_ love each other.” The grave statement stopped Hiei from walking, and so, Kurama walked up to Hiei and looked him in the eyes as he spoke. “It is my firm belief that those two have an adoration for each other’s souls, a need to be in each other’s presence.”

Hiei looked away from Kurama, visibly hurt by his words.”But Hiei.” Kurama gently moved Hiei’s face so that their eyes locked once more. “The love they bear for each other is rose colored. It is not the same as yours Hiei. Yours glows red and burns brightly. I think, that eventually, Yusuke and Keiko will realize that they were slightly mistaken regarding their feelings for each other. When that time comes, Yusuke will turn to you, and the chemical reaction will be an extraordinary one. One that I think will last.”

“Can you wait for him Hiei?”

Kurama, who was waiting for an answer, was slightly surprised when he heard Hiei laughing louder and louder by the second.

“Kurama, you don’t seem to comprehend my nature. It is too little too late for that fool Yusuke. If he turns to me, I will have him on his knees and begging! And not even _then_ will I even consider the jackass. Yes, after all this time, I do comprehend the fact that I harbor feelings for that forsaken idiot. But I will not let those stupid feelings get in the way of my fun! “

Hiei seemed much happier and excited for the future; Kurama couldn’t help but smile and feel glad.

“The spirit detective will pay! “ And Hiei laughed like a villain.

Kurama chuckled and felt somewhat touched by the laughing madman.

Love is a scary thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah yes, now you may be thinking "but she cannot end it here!" and to you my friend i answers, "why yes, yes i can." 
> 
> though it was always my intention to write about cute kisses and blushes and maybe hot smexy stuff, i think this is a suitable end for this story.
> 
> thanks for reading this far, and see you hopefully in this story's sequel "time passed; some things change, others don't" where the little emo midget gets the revenge/kisses he is waiting for.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, please comment, anything is fine! Kudos is also pretty nice (~‾▿‾)~


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